Paperless Classrooms

The following information is an amalgamation of two presentations on the topic.

Presentation 1

from the K12 Online Conference 2009 Presentation "Probing the Prospects of a Paperless Pedagogy"

Why?

• Environmentally friendly - a lot tossed the end of the year
• The paper shuffle: grading, returning, etc.
• Future learning/work environments

Classroom Changes

• use Google Apps
• Word Press: online newspaper platform
• To keep more current: additional add-on resources for the classroom
• Collaboration and communication
• Use the tool consistently all the time
• Link resources together
• Embed content in to Moodle
• Convert documents in to PDF and embed: slideshare and scribd
• Assess using Moodle (formal)
• Quizlet and studio - embedable quizzes to measure understanding
• Set up core tools and taught those early on; added on some more as semester progresses
• Google Docs for AP essays

Results

• Increased accountability: running log online
• Increased engagement

Problems

• Digital divide
• Needs to be 1 to 1: increases the knowledge of the machine and the tools

Lessons

• Don’t adopt everything at once
• Use core tools & add as you go
• Ask students to be partners: ask for their help; admit failure and fault when need be
• Find out what is and isn’t working
• Embrace failure

Presentation 2

from PETE&C 2010 presentation "Grading Papers Online" and presenters notes

General Idea

• Comments, grades a little more permanent; not likely to end up in recycle bin

Products

• Buzzword: Students need an email address; free; web based; product from Adobe;
• Google Docs: Set up a highlighted area, make it a certain color, copy that highlighted area, and paste that in where ever you need to make or insert a comment
• Revision: very early in development; no revision history; has audio commentary feature

IDEA
Side by side document grading; one document has all your comments that you want to paste in